Part of Her World
by kirby1991
Summary: The blossoming romance of Monchele.
1. Chapter 1

_Part of Her World. (Chapter 1)_

It was pouring. Rain in California wasn't necessarily rare. After all, it was practically a coastal region. Rainy days came and went. Today…today was _different_ though. This was one of those kind of rains that people have in romantic movies, or something, where the man realizes he loves the woman, and they conveniently find themselves out in the middle of it, kissing each other like they were the last two people on the planet. Yeah, one of those.

"Looks like a nasty one," said the tall, muscular Canadian. Cory didn't necessarily like having his identity reduced to his nationality, but he was okay with it considering his otherwise normal features. His dark, cocoa-brown hair and his chocolate-brown eyes were enough to melt a person if he needed them to. He was a charmer, but it was purely natural, as well as genuine. He was really as nice as he was portrayed on television. Lea jumped a little. His presence was hard to miss, but he had a way about being stealthy. Sometimes, he would jump out of random places on set while she was walking by. She acted like she hated it, but it always made her smile once he disappeared again. It made him smile, too.

She cleared her throat, her tiny fingers wrapped tightly around her Starbucks cup. Black coffee with rice milk. She ordered the same thing every day, piping hot. Even Cory knew her order. "It is," she said, with an almost dazed expression. She actually didn't mind this weather. Perfect cuddle weather. "I kind of like it, though," she added after a moment. She wrinkled her nose adorably at him. "It's good relaxing weather! I can pop in a movie and cuddle on the couch." Cory watched her for a moment. Since he was from Canada, he was a bit more used to snow. It sounded cliché, but it was the truth. Being a northerner, it made sense. "Yeah," he said, scratching under his eye awkwardly. He didn't really care about cuddling so much, at least not now. His main reason, of course, was because he couldn't cuddle with _her._

"Can I ask you something?" he blurted out. She was used to it by now, though. He seemed to have a way about doing that…talking when it sometimes wasn't necessary. She enjoyed that, though. "What's that?" she said as she put the cup up to her face. Her voice echoed in it. "You think they'll keep us together?" His words nearly stopped her in her tracks. _Us?_ she thought. But, she was thinking far too literally. "Finn and Rachel have too much invested at this point…" He began on a tangent. She took a small breath of relief, affectionately patting his arm. "I think we stand a good chance," she said with a sideways grin. "You know Ryan loves us," she admitted. It was a widely known thing among the fans; Ryan loved Finchel, and, if Finchel existed in the real world, well…they'd probably love him, too. His eyebrows wrinkled. He was able to tell when she was nervous, or surprised. She got a little creased right next to her eyebrows. He noticed a lot of little things about her, but that was the most noticeable. "What'd you think I meant?" he asked with a laugh. She shook her head immediately. It was dangerous to let her guard down like that, and she wasn't giving him reason to question her further. "Nothing, I'm just a little tired," she admitted. It was the truth. As much as she enjoyed her ritualistic cups of coffee, on days like this, she enjoyed sleep the most.

"Maybe you should-" _HONK!_ His thoughts were interrupted by the blast of Theo's car horn. Theo wasn't a bad guy. In fact, they actually got along rather well. But he was still jealous of him. Cory wasn't the type to let that kind of thing show, though. Her happiness came before his, and if she was happy with Theo…it was out of his control. "I think your ride wants you," he said, his head ducking. She smiled from ear to ear. She gave him a playful nudge on the arm. He could be adorable when he got like that; puppy-dog eyes and bashful. "Don't look so down! You get to see me at five a.m., tomorrow!" she exclaimed. She was always so unusually excited with the that. He liked sleep, but waking up in the early-morning hours and seeing her smile always cheered him up. "We have some rehearsal tomorrow before we shoot…" She was talking a mile a minute. He blankly watched her. She did that a lot…talk fast. It sounded insensitive, but he sometimes missed on what she said. She was just excited, he thought. He found it rather cute, actually, how she could do that…be so excited at such an odd hour. He waited until she was done, an appropriate amount of time. "Mmm, mhm. Yeah," he said finally. "I already sneaked a peek." _Honk!_ Theo's horn blasted again. Lea grinned a little, turning back to him. "Sorry," she said. "He must have reservations somewhere…" She trailed off. She leaned up, hugging his neck. It was a good thing her legs were so strong, or it might have proven far more difficult. With that, she pattered off to his car, tightening the jacket around herself. He waved at the door; he hated this part. The end of the day. She would go home and cuddle, as she planned. She would probably play with her cats and continue to work on her _Save the Horses!_ campaign, too. He would go home and play his drums for a little while. It was one of the few, if not only thing that could distract him from her. He strolled out to his car, slid in and began the drive back to his apartment. Time for the night to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

The weather was clear now. Rain in California, in general, didn't last too long. Drips of water gathered at the ends of gutters and dripped down into the spouts, pouring out into the sewers on the street. The only evidence left were the patches of moist pavement. The sun practically beamed through, creating miniature rainbows on the windows of cars and shops that lined the streets of Los Angeles. It was there that Cory found himself. He planned on driving home and eating some take-out that his roommates didn't bother to polish off. Instead, he somehow found himself at a nearby Starbucks. Not many people liked to venture out into the rain, thankfully. It was oddly peaceful considering its location; it was adjacent to many of the studios in Hollywood, and on any given day hoards of people were usually around to snag autographs or pictures. But, today was different.

He sipped on his coffee and ate his bagel with low-fat cream cheese. Lea had convinced him that, if he was still insistent on eating dairy, he at least take the healthier route. He caved, making it a routine thing. The bell on the door of the shop rang; the clicking of the boots on the linoleum floors was unmistakable. "Saw her talking to you before she left," said Theo flatly. Cory rolled his eyes a little. He and Theo got along…for the most part. Until Theo started up with his crazy theories again. That was when it became more of a burden on him. "We have lines to run through tomorrow," Cory said simply. Theo pulled out the chair across from him. It was rare that they got to have these man-to-man moments. "You like her?" he asked plainly. It was as obvious as just about anything, especially from another guy's perspective. Cory scoffed. "We're co-workers. She's like a sister to me, that would be really unprofessional." Theo looked at him incredulously; he wasn't buying the "unprofessional" bit. That was a matter of morals, and those varied upon personality. "Look, man," he started off. He wanted to make it as easy as possible for him. "I love her. She loves me. We have…" He trailed off. "We have a lot in common," he finally offered. "We understand each other, and she's opened up to me like no one else." Cory exchanged a curious glance. He and Lea knew no secrets, but that, he assumed, was strictly between them. "I just want you to respect that," he finally said. "I know you guys are close…" He scratched his nose. "And believe me, being close to friends is something I respect more than anything. But there's a fine line between closeness and, well…_too_ close." He nodded once. Cory scoffed again. He wasn't a home-wrecker. He would have never ruined Lea's life like that…her reputation, anything. Clearly, Theo was a little misinformed about him, but he played it cool. "You have nothing to worry about," admitted Cory. It was the truth. As far as Theo was concerned, Cory was…well, just a co-worker.

_Later that night…_

Lea stood at her window. Theo had inexplicably left earlier. Something about getting her Starbucks, he wasn't divulging too much. She waited patiently. She worried a lot, about Theo, and Cory. She sent out two text messages. _Are you staying safe? Careful, it's a mess out there!_ She didn't need to send one to Theo. She assumed he would be safe. She didn't hear back, though, and that fact slightly worried her. Cory always got right back with her. She continued to wait at the window as the door swung open. Theo shook off the brisk air. "Whew!" he said, acting as if nothing was wrong. Lea turned to him with a small frown. He had forgotten the very thing he said he left for. "You forgot it!" She pouted cutely. It was her way to making him feel bad without acting like she meant to. His eyes widened. He really had wanted to go out and get her coffee; he knew how much she loved it on nights like this. "I got a little distracted," he admitted. He slid his hands on his hips. That was never a good sign from him. A look of confusion overtook her. This was…unusual. Theo, like herself, was very attentive most of the time. It was hard to get side-tracked. She walked over and sat on the sofa. "Distracted? By what?" she chirped. He sighed through his nose a little and rubbed his neck.

Cory had always been a touchy subject between the two of them. "Cory was there," he finally admitted. She perked up a little, playfully clapping her hands. "He was? So he was okay?" He looked at her, a bit confused by her question. _Of course he was okay, _he thought, but he shrugged instead. "Yeah, seemed okay. We uh…" He paused at his next words. He had to approach it carefully. "We had a discussion." He took his spot next to her, folding his hands, hunched over. She frowned again, suddenly not so excited by the news. "Did something happen?" She affectionately rubbed his back. He stressed himself too much, and she could tell when he was meeting his filling point. "I told him to back off a little." He looked at her. She stared back, blankly. "What the hell?" she finally asked. She wasn't saying it threateningly, but she was a bit angry. It was his only real flaw; jealousy. It was a sign, that, to her, meant he couldn't trust her. He sighed lowly, rubbing the spot between his eyes. "I just…worry about you two sometimes. You're just…close." His nose wrinkled in distaste. Lea was close with everyone. Her personality was practically infectious; it was a well-known fact. "He's like my brother," she said, surprisingly calm. "Our characters have grown so close…we almost _have_ to be that way." Her arms folded. Perhaps it was her hormones, or maybe the fact that Cory and her were developing something more than a friendship. She couldn't be sure. Without allowing him to say another word, she simply got up, grabbing her purse and jacket before leaving. She decided to take his car. He wasn't going anywhere for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Theo hated this. Her acting this way when he was purely apologetic. "If you really want the coffee that bad, come back and I'll buy it for you." He sent the text and it didn't yield a response; he'd expected that. She read it with a crinkled brow. She generally kept her cool, but sometimes, Theo was just…well, _infuriating._ This wasn't about _coffee._ She was insulted on a number of levels, the first and most important one being that he really thought it _was_ about coffee.

She drove for what felt like hours, but it wasn't really at all. In situations like this, she usually confided in Cory. He was a great listener, and he always seemed so logical in his advice to her. He cared for her; that fact was obvious. As she pulled into his apartment complex and strode to his door, it all seemed routine. She'd done it so many times before. The main difference, of course, was that this was usually done on a happier occasion. Only once before had she shown up unexpectedly, and upset. It was never uninvited; she was always a welcome guest in his home. Her tiny fingers curled into a fist and lightly tapped on his door. No answer. It was unusual, she thought, but certainly not a surprise. Had she called and told him she was going to visit, he'd have broken his neck to get there. She frowned, tucking her hair behind her ear. As she rubbed her arms on the way back to the car, contemplating whether to go talk to Theo, Cory pulled in. He spotted her from the entrance and practically dashed out of his car. She looked upset.

"I'm so-" was all she could get out before he practically ran up to check on her. "Did something happen?" he asked. He was usually calm and collective, but this was different. _She_ was different. She nodded quickly. "Yes, it's fine, really," she offered. "I just…" she said in between sniffles. That nearly killed him. "Come on, let's get you inside. Kind of windy out." In spite of the short distance from the sidewalk to his apartment, he put his jacket around her anyway. He led her inside, gently closing the door before walking over with her to the couches. "What happened?" he asked, more calmly this time. She remained stone-faced for a moment. _Should I tell him?_ she thought. _Will he think I'm weird?_ she kept asking herself. "Theo…" she said after a long moment of silence to collect herself, "told me." He looked a bit confused. Frankly, the conversation between the two of them hadn't fazed him much. Theo, he figured, was probably more bark than bite. "What did he tell you?" he asked after another few long moments. Her behavior was beginning to worry him; she was usually so bright and optimistic. It was what drew him to her, and what _kept_ drawing him to her. She always saw the bright side of things, no matter how dark it might have seemed at the time.

She put her hand on his knee. She was great with words, yes; she was even better with singing them (obviously.) But, as much as she was good at those things, she was also good at connecting with people. Physically and emotionally. "I didn't tell him to do that," she finally admitted. "I just wanted my black coffee with rice milk." Her bottom lip came out into a pout. It was oddly adorable how, such a small thing as rice milk, could throw someone on the brink of tears. "Hey, hey," he said, scooting closer and pulling her into a hug. "He didn't bother me." His voice was muffled by her shirt. She was great at hugs; incidentally, so was he. He rubbed her back affectionately. She began to cry a little; she liked both of them. She didn't want to lose Cory to someone else's jealousy. "That's not the point," she said into his shirt. "He had no right to-" Before she could finish, he gently pulled away. Both of his over-sized hands were now cupping her face. She sort of hand chipmunk cheeks now, and it made him smile, though he realized it was bad timing. "It's _fine,_" he said with a gentle yet stern reassurance. "If I had a woman like you…" He began to ramble again. It was a little hard for her to pay attention after that, whether she wanted to admit it or not. He was speaking pseudo hypothetically. _If_ he had her meant that he really _did_ want her; he was simply informing of her what he would do in a situation if it would ever have the ground to happen between them. It definitely did.

What happened next was…well, to say the least, strange. She leaned forward and kissed him. _We don't rehearse until tomorrow…_he thought. Then it hit him. She wasn't practicing her stage blocking. This was real. He paused for a moment, remembering he'd eaten cream cheese. If he pulled away now to tell her that, he would have been an idiot, and she would have left. He didn't want that, and she didn't either. He stayed there for a moment before he moved a little closer to her. In the course of three seconds, his felt his heart rate spike dramatically. If there would have been anything flammable near them, all hell would have broken loose from the spark. She kissed him for a few more seconds before falling back, pulling him with her.

_5 .a.m. the following morning, just before call-time._

It was brief, yet still passionate. As the birds outside began chirping, she shifted in her spot. The arm the was around her wasn't one she was used to. It was much heavier, and a little less hairy. She opened her eyes; the freckles on his arm were staring her right in the face. She swallowed thickly. She'd fallen asleep under the impression that, just a few hours before, had been a dream. _A dream_, she repeated in her head before she half-turned. It wasn't a dream. And there he was, looking as peaceful as ever. Some hair stuck to his forehead. He had a small five o'clock shadow. The most noticeable thing, however, was his smile. It was plastered on his face. He'd either had a great night or a great dream; it was both, though, she had no way of knowing. He didn't feel her move. He was far too comfortable. She laid there a few minutes. She had an odd sense of guilt, but it was nearly overpowered with something she hadn't felt in a _really_ long time. She didn't know the feeling; it was too hard to describe. She felt a tingle in her stomach, just laying there next to him. She was a little scared to move, for a number of reasons. She didn't want to wake him, but she just didn't want to leave his side for a while. It was the first time that her call-time became an annoyance.

As quietly as she possibly could, she moved his arm. It took a few minutes. She wasn't sure if he was a light sleeper or not, and didn't want him to wake up until his alarm went off. He didn't move a muscle.

She slid on her shirt, then her sweatpants. (She'd changed after arriving home. It was her favorite night-time ritual…sweatpants.) She slid on her socks, shoes and grabbed her bracelet. She was uncannily quiet. She carefully grabbed her keys from the nightstand. And, just like that, she was gone back to her apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter four_

He shifted around in his bed, taking a low breath. The smile that he had before he fell asleep was still there, but she wasn't. He frowned a bit at the absence of her under his arm, as she had been the entire night before. It was brief, but passionate, what they had.

He moved and laid on his side, sitting up slightly. His smile was now completely erased.

"_We can't…"_ they both said, almost simultaneously. They knew they couldn't. That's what made it even harder. Instead, they'd stayed up for most of the night, talking. They did kiss, and came close to taking it further; as close as one could get without _actually_ doing anything. Kissing was bad enough, she said. She was right. He knew she was right. Neither made the other one go any further.

At some point, they'd moved to his room. It began storming again, even harder than it had earlier in the day. She loved cuddling in a thunderstorm, but this particular storm was a bit more intense than usual. She didn't leave his side the entire night; he kept telling her it would be okay. He meant for the storm, and for them. For her and Theo, too.

He ran a hand through his hair, fixing it. He stared at the bed, the now-empty spot. As he got up to brush his teeth, he looked in the living room. No one. He looked in the kitchen. Nope, no one there, either. He sighed, shaking his head. He fully expected that. He went into the bathroom, where his phone stayed on charge. No usual wake-up text from her; no phone call. No sign that she even knew who he was, besides the spot in his bed being slightly more wrinkled than usual. He stood in the mirror a while before he shaved and brushed his teeth. Mondays were bad. Tuesdays were worse.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and slipped out the door, locking it behind him. He strode to his car; hers was gone. He knew that, but it hurt a little more to see definitively. As he got in and began the drive, he drove past her apartment. The light was on. Her car was there. Theo's wasn't. He left a few minutes after she did. He knew it was best to give her space when she was angry. They knew each other that well. Part of him began to ease on the brake and turn his wheel. The other part mocked him. _If she wanted you, you wouldn't have woken up alone._ That thought echoed in his head and he fought the urge to go see her again. Not until he had to, anyway.

The sun was just now starting to make its appearance. Schoolchildren stood on their bus tops. A few of them waved. Seeing a celebrity in California, particularly Los Angeles, was somewhat commonplace. Sure, autographs and pictures were an inevitability, but they typically handled it a little better than most people. He pulled into his spot. _Cory Monteith_ was etched on one side; next to it? _Lea Michele._ Under their names was the Glee logo. It always made him smile. He got out. He was early today. That never happened. That didn't mean he was necessarily late, just not…early. He made his way into the building. The only other cast-member there that early was Naya. She liked it that way. She could get hair and make-up done, read the paper _and_ her Twitter mentions before anyone else.

He went to his dressing room and changed into his clothes. Today's outfit was a striped polo and jeans, his hair styled in the same way it always was. Nothing reasonably exciting, just routine. He enjoyed that. Soon after, Lea arrived. (This was her normal time, though.) He always knew when she pulled in anywhere because, well…she wasn't the _greatest_ driver. Her tires would always squeal a little when she pulled in from slamming on the brakes so hard. She stayed out in her car a few minutes. A lengthy apology to Theo was in order. She sent it quickly, leaving out any details of the night before. She simply said that she needed some thinking time. She sure got it.

She carefully pattered into the building. She noticed Cory's car immediately. It made her a little nervous. He certainly wasn't the type to hold a grudge, that much she knew. But, what happened the night prior wasn't anything that would even need to be measured by a grudge. Emotions were involved, now, she thought. It had gotten somewhat serious. Had she not fought her hormones, it would have gotten a lot more serious. She was grateful that both of them recognized what a mistake it would be if they continued on. Cory was good that way. It was obvious he cared.

She walked inside with her Starbucks. In her haste, she'd forgotten to ask for rice milk. She was drinking black coffee. It didn't taste too good, but it gave her the pep she needed. She would need a whole lot of it today. "Cory?" she chimed. Thankfully, the set wasn't _too_ big, and her voice carried well. He didn't come out after hearing her. He was going to let her come to him. "Cory?" she said again, approaching his door. It was cracked, and she took the opportunity to open it. "Cory…" she said one last time. She closed the door behind her. "We need to-" He brushed past her, faking indifference. "Talk about what?" he said innocently. She stood, confused. For what they'd confided in each other, he was acting like he didn't care. That hurt. "We need to talk," she said quietly. She knew he knew. He stopped and took a breath, shaking his head. He didn't turn around; that would have been more embarrassing for him. "It's fine," he offered. "I…I understand." The truth was, he didn't understand. He never would, unless they were actually together.

She reached out, gently touching his arm. "I don't think it's that simple, Cory," she admitted. She was right. Nothing would ever be _that simple; _not when it came to the two of them, anyway. "Look," he said flatly, "You know…I mean, you know what I told you last night." He swallowed thickly. "And it does kill me, but…we can't mess it up for each other. …I can't mess it up for you. And I won't." They stood for a few moments, not saying anything. It was one of those silences where a thousand different thoughts and ideas were present, but no one had the gumption to say them. Those were the worst. With that, he left to set. She remained in his dressing room, the taste of guilt and block coffee tainting her mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter five_

It was awkward. If awkward was a tension that you could cut with a knife, then that was it. It was odd; they joyously kissed and talked the night before. Now, it was like they were total strangers, or something. Cory didn't want it to be that way. Lea didn't, either. She felt bad. _Really_ bad. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Cory, and she wound up doing it anyway.

As they say on Finn's bed, preparing for their next scene, he didn't say a word to her. It would be bad enough to have to kiss her, multiple times at that. His stomach was doing flip-flops. He knew that, even if they were acting, there would still be a spark there. It was that much harder to let go. "Okay…_action_," called Ryan. He was either oblivious to the tension or he was enjoying it. He loved drama, and he loved the atmosphere that the set could create. It was a catalyst for his thinking process.

As they began, Lea read her lines. Cory could hardly pay attention. He was practically staring a hole into her lips. He said his, too, rather halfheartedly. It was painfully, obvious, too. "CUT!" yelled Ryan. He was growing impatient. "The purpose of you guys going home is to rest," he said, almost matter-of-factly. "Looks like you missed that memo, Cory." He sighed lowly. He was generally an understanding person, but it was difficult to work with fatigue. "We'll try it a few more times, from a different angle." The adjusted the cameras and ran the lines again. Cory nailed it.

Now came the kiss. He _loved _kissing her. She'd had been lying if she would have said any differently. Their lips meshed together perfectly. It was scripted to be a simple, sweet kiss. Everyone's mouths nearly dropped at the ferocity of it. He slid a little bit closer to her, and she didn't try and stop him. It was harder for her to feel guilty about kissing him if it was scripted. "Cut." They continued. Ryan cleared his throat. "_Cut,_" he said again, with a slightly more firm tone. They still continued. "CUT!" he finally yelled. Cory and Lea both pulled away, looking at each other, practically reading the other's mind. "Oh damn!" said Kevin, waving his hand. "Y'all need a water hose!" Cory's nose wrinkled at the comment. "Okay, you two," said Ryan. "You're done for the day."

Cory quickly got up, fixing his shirt. Lea reached her hand out but didn't pursue him. Everyone knew what just happened, it was impossible for him not to. He was hiding from it.

As he came back out to his car, he could hear the others running their scenes. _The coast is clear_, he thought. He was wrong. She came out of nowhere, and it scared the bejeezus out of him. "You're not even going to let me explain myself?" she asked sadly. That nearly killed him. Seeing her hurt nearly killed him; even the idea of her being hurt killed him. "What's there to explain?" he said as he tossed his bag into his backseat. "You made it pretty clear when I woke up." He paused, almost for effect. "Alone." She blinked a few times. _Did he really think I wanted to leave?_ she thought to herself. She chose not to say it, though, at the risk of being patronizing. "Cory…" she said. "Theo lives two streets away from you. I'm surprised he didn't see my car parked in your apartment complex." He rolled his eyes a bit as he got in. "So that's it, huh? You're just going to forget about everything we talked about last night, just like that?" He looked at her with doe eyes.

She knelt down a bit, her chin resting on his car door. "It was weird, waking up next to you." She paused. "I…I didn't want to leave. The thought of that, you waking up and not seeing me there…it killed me. You didn't even know." He looked at her incredulously. He wasn't dumb; he knew that she wouldn't have stayed there even if she did wake him up. "I just didn't want you to put up a fight. I…" She paused again. "I needed to go." Tears began to sting in her eyes, but she managed to maintain her composure. He understood that. He understood the cheating. He understood how she was feeling guilty. What he didn't understand, though, was why she would have continued to see him when she admitted that she wasn't necessarily "in love" with him, but more with the idea of love. It was a bold confession, and he admired her for it. "He doesn't make you happy," he said finally. "He doesn't treat you like you need…_deserve,"_ he corrected himself. She frowned. She was hoping he, somehow, would have forgotten that part of the conversation. He half-turned in his seat. "I think you need to be with someone that wants to be with you wholeheartedly, and who knows you like you know yourself." He nodded a little; he knew she knew what he meant.

Just as she began to comment, a car horn blew from somewhere in the distance. It was unmistakable; Theo. "I have to go," she said promptly. "I have to talk to him." Before he could respond at all, she was gone. He sat for a few minutes, looking at the space she'd been sitting in before he called it quits and drove back to his apartment, alone.

_A few hours later at Lea's apartment…_

There was a loud crash coming from inside. It was a box of dinner plates he'd bought for her for Christmas. If Theo knew anything, it was that she loved to cook. She dropped them in a small moment of fluster; not of anger. The only person she was angry at was herself. "Will you just tell me what's going on?" Theo demanded. She paused. Her back was turned to him, and she was now in the process of hiding her sniffles, but she couldn't any longer. "I think we're through, Theo." He froze. _Just because I forgot a cup of coffee?_ he thought. She was inconsolable now. It scared him; she was usually so mild-mannered. He walked up, attempting to give her a hug. _Something._ It didn't work and she pushed him away. "I can't…" she said between sobs. "I can't do this. The long distance thing. The jealousy thing. The wondering whether or not I even…" Her words were cut off by another sob. "I even…l-love you, thing," she said finally. She knew that would hurt, more now than later.

He immediately sat down on the couch. His eyes widened with sadness and surprise. He swallowed away a thick lump. He wasn't much of a crier. He, like her, usually had an even temper. "I don't get it." It was all he could say for a second. "I can go back and get the coffee?" It was a dumb suggestion, but he was acting in a moment of desperation. He didn't realize how dumb it sounded. "It's not about the coffee!" she said. He, at that exact moment, was only furthering her point.

The next few hours were a blur. She was crying in his lap one moment, wanting to shove him off the couch the next. Eventually, they just wound up sitting at separate ends. She was hunched over slightly, and had changed into a robe. He had taken his jacket off and now sat with his hand curled in his hair. He thought so much about what would happen if they went on to the next step. It wasn't a worry, now, and the box in his pocket would only ever be a refund.


	6. Chapter 6

_Please note: Any of the previous and future chapters are only loosely based off of real invents within the actors' lives. Certain elements are and have been intentionally exaggerated for entertainment purposes only. It does not factually represent any event which may or may have not taken place. The only thing that I will try and keep as close as possible is mannerisms of the celebrities being portrayed. Enjoy._

_Chapter six_

There was an awkward silence that filled the room. It had been much like the one she experienced earlier, minus the romantic tension coupled with it. This time, it was simply angst. He swallowed away a thick lump in his throat. The engagement ring he purchased that morning was meant to be an "I'm sorry" gift, as well as a sign of his commitment; clearly, she wasn't on the same page. In some odd way, she'd done him a favor, though he wouldn't see it that way for a while.

He rubbed his neck. Everything he had to say now was a shot in the dark; he felt blindsided. "Is it because I talked to him?" he asked. She didn't reply for a while. She'd surprised herself with the announcement. She didn't think she had what it took to do it. "That was part of it," she admitted. "There are a lot of reasons, though." She played with her own strand of hair, almost as if it was therapeutic. He sat, waiting for her to finish, but she didn't. Part of him knew what the next reason was, and it killed him. "I think…" he said after a moment. "You just need a little breathing room. You need to clear your head and _really_ think about things." He cautiously patted her knee. "Maybe you should take an episode or two off…Rachel isn't the main character."

That did it. She'd gone to more shows of his than she could think of; she sat through countless auditions, cheering him on. She even Skyped him before every audition for good luck. He couldn't even sit for an _hour_ and watch "Glee"? Her nose wrinkled, not in the cute way that it usually did, either. "Do you even watch the show?" she said immediately. His eyes widened a little bit. In truth, he watched about ten minutes weekly of it. It certainly wasn't enough to gauge how much her character meant to the show. "I…you know I do," he stammered. She looked at him incredulously. She certainly didn't condone violence, but she wanted to slap him. _It couldn't hurt,_ she thought.

She stormed up and off again. "Bullshit!" she said with the wave of her hands. "If you did, you wouldn't have said what you just said!" She stood in the kitchen, slicing a lemon for some tea. It soothed her. He chose to remain seated. Women, as a general rule of thumb, were not as friendly brandishing a knife. He rolled his eyes. "I'm a busy guy, you know. It's not like I have time to sit down every week and watch your show!" She continued to slice the lemon. "But you have time to go and harass _my_ co-workers? Have I ever once bothered any of _your_ friends that _I_ didn't like hanging around _you?_ No! I haven't!" she said, not waiting for him to answer. "Because I trusted you, Theo! You can't have a relationship where you don't trust someone." The words were practically forced out. She'd have broken his trust if it would have meant anything to her the night before, but it didn't.

He paused. He had the upper hand. Having seen her car at his apartment, along with the way she was acting, spoke out to him. "Did you kiss him?" he said once. He had no use in repeating himself. She froze, standing still as a statue. "Theo…" His brows wrinkled. "_Did you kiss him?" _he asked again, this time, only for confirmation. She didn't answer. He stormed past her, to her bedroom. He grabbed his jacket, along with a picture of them. She wouldn't be needing it. He left soon after, and she remained in the kitchen, not slicing the lemons anymore; she wasn't even drinking her tea. She was just there. Alone.

_Meanwhile, at Cory's apartment…_

It was weird, he thought, as he laid next to her on the bed. He'd woken up this way just a few hours earlier. That is to say, he _would_ have if Lea would have stayed. But this wasn't Lea. He wished it was, and part of him wished what just happened hadn't. But, as many people do, he acted in a time of confusion.

She was a friend on the band. More specifically, a friend of Seth's. She, apparently, had liked him for the longest time. She was also conveniently available when he came home. "Waiting for Seth," she said. Her and Seth weren't together, romantically. That shipped had sailed. She had eyes for Cory now, and she'd gotten it.

She trailed her hand along his arm slowly, her lip pursed out. She was fully aware this wasn't made to last. "Are you okay?" she asked, a little scared to know the answer. He wasn't. "Fine," he said blankly. "I just…" He paused. He seemed to be doing that a lot, lately. She shook her head a little, tracing her thumb over his tattoo. "It's okay," she finally offered. "I understand." There was a long few moments of silence between them. "Would it be okay if I just stayed here anyway?" Her voice was sad. He was sad. It was a sad, sad situation. He nodded. He didn't have the nerve, or the heart, to tell her to leave after that. She would have had every right to have gained the wrong impression. She snuggled up a little closer to him, playing with the fabric of his shirt. He insisted on leaving it on, for some reason, but she was okay with it. "Hey, Jamie?" he said. She smiled at him. At least he knew her name. "Can we…just keep this between us? I mean, just between us. Don't even tell Seth, if you can avoid it." She nodded again. Her lips were sealed.

He continued to just lay there, his head resting in his own hand. He was a snuggler, but not tonight. Not with her. "Are you hungry or anything?" she inquired, trying to break the silence. He wasn't. "No, thanks," he said again, less blankly this time. She nodded again; it was getting kind of late. "You can go to sleep," he said quietly. "I won't wake you up, I promise." He laughed a little. She'd probably be gone before he ever opened an eye. She smiled at the gesture and let her eyes fall closed, her hand now resting on her other one in front of her.

His phone rang. And rang. And rang. He refused to answer. _Too risky,_ he thought. He was right; it was incredibly risky.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter seven_

He wasn't answering. This was unusual. He _always_ answered. She called again. And again. Again, again, again. Nothing. It was as if he'd fallen into a level-five sleep, or as if he was ignoring her. She'd have rather taken the first, any day. She decided to leave a voicemail. "Cory? I-It's me." She cleared her throat. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "I, well. I was hoping we could talk. Call soon, please." She hung up.

He could hear on his answering machine. He looked down at Jamie, who was sleeping peacefully next to him. He sighed. Things just got a lot harder, he thought. He was close; the proper wording would have been _immensely_ harder. He sat up, slightly. She wasn't sleeping close enough that it would have been an issue that she moved. He carefully got up out of bed. He'd somehow managed to get back into his PJ's while still in bed. It was a skill he was thankful for. He walked over to the phone and traced his thumb over the numbers. They were glowing. It must have been late. He didn't know; he didn't have a clock in his room. He walked out onto his patio and called her back. She sounded devastated. No _way_ he was going to leave her like that.

"Hello?" she answered, almost immediately. It was as if she'd been waiting for his call. (She had.) He paused for a moment; her quickness surprised him.

"Lea? You, uh, you called."

"I know, Cory."

"You don't sound well…"

"I'm not."

"What happened?"

She paused for a long moment or two. "He left." He stood in silence for a moment again. "Well, I told him to leave." She wiped her nose with her sleeve. "I couldn't…I couldn't look at him. Not after what I…_we_ did." He frowned. She was criminalizing it, it seemed like. "He knew," she continued. "He has to drive past there to get to his place. I don't know if he wanted me to confess or if he was going to rub it in my face." She bit her lip. His silence worried her. "Are you still there?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Lea."

"Can I come over?"

There was, yet again, another pause. "I don't know," he said timidly. He wanted to see her, more than anything. He would have broken his own arm if it could have convinced Jamie to leave for the night, but he didn't have the heart to. "We can talk tomorrow," he simply offered. "And I mean, a _real_ talk. We'll turn on some Bravo, get some of those pop chips you like so much…just you and me. Sound okay?" She nodded, then remembering he couldn't see it. "Yes, Cory. I…" She shook her head. "Thank you, for being so understanding about everything." He smiled a little. "It really means the world to me, I hope you know that." He cleared his throat. "I do," he said quietly. They talked for a few more seconds, finishing their good-byes before he hung up. He sat for a few minutes, the wind blowing a piece of his hair to the side. He looked back through the window behind him; Jamie was sleeping peacefully. He carefully walked in and covered her up again before taking a small blanket of his own and moving to the couch.

_The next morning…_

The smell of bacon wafted through the air. It woke him. He rubbed his eye with his palm, sitting up. He was legitimately confused. His roommates were vegetarian, and none of them knew how to cook. At least not well. He sat up. He was covered with his blanket again. His eyes widened.

Jamie popped into the living room, wearing one of his shirts. "What are you doing?" he said immediately. She frowned, wiping a spot of drool from his mouth. "Someone's a heavy sleeper." She giggled. Something was…not right. He shook his head. "I-I'm not," he said. She remained in her spot. "I thought maybe we could have breakfast together?" She looked over at him. He looked back, trying to find a way to break the news to her. "I have to be to work soon, so we have to make it quick." It was a convenient excuse, and an honest one. "Well, if you think you can wolf down pancakes, bacon _and_ eggs in five minutes, Mr. Tough Guy." She patted his stomach and he moved away slightly.

"Look, Jamie…" he said. She put her thumb over his lip. "_Shhh,_" she said. He swallowed thickly. She didn't want the night before to be washed away with guilt. She would have much rather preferred a nice, quiet breakfast. She'd help herself out after. "We should do this again sometime," she said as she walked over and made their food. He quickly shook his head. "No, no, no, no…" he said again. "We can't. Look, last night was nice but…" He looked down, ashamed. "It can't happen again. I was upset. You…you were, well…there." His jaw clenched.

She took it better than he expected, though. She coughed a little, holding in a laugh. "You think I don't know that?" she said, pushing her hair to one side. "Everyone's told me how crazy you are about her." He looked at her, a bit surprised. "But I bet last night was a nice break from thinking about her, huh?" She winked at him, slapping his knee. She couldn't have been more wrong, actually. He was thinking about Lea the entire time. "You should leave," he said suddenly. She laughed, taking it as a joke. He wasn't kidding. "I mean, now. Seth's going to be here any minute…" He got up. He hadn't touched a bite of his food. She rolled her eyes, standing up and sauntering back to his bed. She slid on her clothes and came back out. "Better?" she hissed. He was already cleaning up. She sighed lowly, grabbing her purse. "See you around, I guess." She watched him for a moment. The choice, to anyone else, was crystal clear. It was to her, too. Without another word, she quietly slipped out. He didn't even notice.

_About an hour later…_

Lea sat in her trailer. There was a table set for two; two bagels, along with two glasses of coffee sat. There was a paper. She knew he enjoyed reading. She sat, waiting patiently until she heard his car tires squeal. She smiled, sitting in a sundress and sunglasses. It was a gorgeous day.

A few moments later, there was a brief tap on the door. "Come in!" she chimed. She was much more happy this morning. It was a new day, she figured. Her slate was being cleaned and she was preparing for what was ahead. He stepped inside and looked around before his eyes locked onto her. He took a moment to look at her before a small smile appeared. "Hey," he said simply. She smiled back. "Hey."

He walked over and sat across from her with a small smile. She looked…well, perfect. "You seem happy," he noted. "Are you doing okay since last night?" Her smile faded somewhat, but she managed to keep most of it. She nodded. "Much better, actually." She sipped her coffee. "Theo and I's relationship was toxic," she admitted. He frowned. He hoped that wasn't in part due to him. "And I've been thinking…" She leaned over, reaching forward to caress his hand. "About our talk the other night."

His eyes widened. _Maybe she put an energy drink in her coffee?_ he silently wondered. He nodded a little to indicate he was still paying attention. "I thought about it for the past two days," he said, matter-of-factly. She smiled. "In a good way, right?" He simply nodded. He was exhausted, but somehow…she made it all better. His eyes squinted from the light, his hair messed up in a cute way. She leaned over and fixed it for him, scooting closer in the process. He looked up; she was closer than he expected. His eyes widened a little and he stayed put. She leaned forward, he did too, a little.

Just as their lips met, the door to her trailer flew open.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter eight_

Cory jumped up so fast that he hit his head on the ceiling of her trailer. He always had to duck a bit, anyway, but he was in such a scramble that he forgot. It was Ryan. "Hello, children," he said. He was unusually chipper. He paused, seeing how close they'd been sitting. "Something going on?" They exchanged glances and quickly shook their head. "No, nothing's going on," chimed in Lea. Cory sat back again, at a safer distance this time. "We were practicing our kiss in the next scene," he said, rubbing his neck.

Ryan was practically a human lie-detector, though. He could tell they weren't being truthful. "Funny. That's _yesterday's_ script," he said matter-of-factly. He shook it off. He had little time for this. "So, Lea," he said cautiously. "Theo called me." He looked at the two of them sternly. Cory swallowed nervously. "He says you two are officially done?" He looked at her sympathetically. "Unfortunately," she said halfheartedly. She didn't necessarily hate ending things with him, just the way it was ended. "This isn't going to affect your work, is it?" He raised an eyebrow. She simply shook her head. "Good." He patted her knee, giving Cory an interesting look. "He wouldn't tell me why, though. And, as your boss and friend, I'm curious…did something happen? I know he had a bit of a sketchy reputation." She bit her lip. "We just had irreconcilable differences," she said timidly. He nodded a little.

The tension in the room was big enough to cut open with a knife. It wasn't a bad tension, though. Just an awkward one. "You two are due on-set in twenty minutes," he said. He gave her a hearty pay on the back and smiled at him before leaving. Cory took a breath of relief. "Close one," he said, leaning back on the couch. She smiled back at him and put her hand on his knee. "I was…maybe hoping we could have dinner tonight? You know, if it's not too late, or anything." He reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, licking over his lips. "Yeah, that'd be great." He forced a smile. "There's, uh, something I need to tell you anyway," he admitted. She frowned slightly. That probably wasn't good, but this was a new start. It was time to put everything behind them. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I look forward to it," she said with an optimistic smile. It was the same smile that he fell for so many months ago. He watched her leave to go get make-up done, him sitting for a few extra moments. He followed shortly after.

_Later that night, after filming, at about eight p.m…_

He left back to his apartment to change. He wasn't sure where they were going, but he wanted to keep it low-key, especially on a Friday night at eight in L.A. Paparazzi were _everywhere_, so pretty much anything done was fair game. He was still learning the ropes of avoiding them when he needed to, though.

He showered, using his extra-special shampoo and extra-special cologne. He was in a dress-up shirt with a striped tie, a black jacket, slacks and dress shoes. He looked like a million dollars. Seth playfully whistled as he stepped into the next room. "So you're taking my advice on Jamie, then?" He froze. It was…odd timing, to say the least. "No, man. Sorry." He stood in the mirror, fixing small pieces of his hair. "That, um…that'll never work out," he admitted, fixing his tie now. Seth looked at him incredulously. "What are you talking about, dude? She's hot!" If Jamie didn't want Seth, Seth could still have her around with Cory. It made sense, right?

Cory rolled his eyes and turned back around. "Maybe there's more a person than what they look like?" he asked. Seth held in some laughter. "Dude, you're young. You've got plenty of time to settle down. Why not have a little fun while you're at it?" Cory rolled his eyes. He had a slightly different version of fun, apparently, and it wasn't stringing people along. "It's nothing," he said simply. He was sure acting strange. "I'll be back later," he said as he grabbed his keys. "Don't wait up for me."

Lea stepped out of her room in a dress. She _loved _dresses, that much was obvious. It was black with spaghetti straps, stopping just above the knees. She ditched most of the make-up tonight, leaving it simple. With Cory, there was no need to be overzealous. He saw her for who she was, with or without cosmetics. She had the luxury of living alone now; she didn't have a roommate to stop and critique her outfit choices or accessories. She liked it that way, though. She smiled at her own appearance. She looked…well, perfect.

She hummed quietly to herself and sat on the couch, hearing his car horn soon after. The smile she got just then never faded as she headed out to the car.

_A little while later, at the restaurant_

He was being particularly chivalrous. He figured the news he was about to deliver called for it. He wanted to anyway, though. He pulled out her chair for her and tucked it back in before taking a seat himself, setting his napkin across his lap. He smiled nervously at her. He'd hardly been able to take his eyes off her when he was driving, let alone now. "You, um…" He licked over his lips, his eyes widening a bit. He shook his head. "You look beautiful," he said sincerely. It was true. She did. She smiled and ducked her head. It was nice, just the two of them. Even if it _was_ out in public.

"Thank you," she said, reaching under the table to take his hand. He swallowed. It was now or never. "I needed to talk to you," he admitted again. He'd known she'd been expecting it. He was hoping she would take it better than he pictured, but the odds weren't in his favor. She smiled a little more at him. "Anything," she said with sincerity. "You know that." She squeezed his hand affectionately. His gaze shifted down, immediately down, actually. "I…the other night, the morning you left my place…" He lowered his voice a little. "My friend Seth…he knows this girl. Her name is Jamie." She frowned, her grip somewhat loosening from his hand. He could feel it, and it scared him. "She came over." He froze for a minute, deciding whether or not to elaborate on the details. "W-we talked for a while and…well," he said, rubbing his neck. "It was just once," he said quickly.

Her hand now fell completely out of his. She was upset, obviously, but no more than would be acceptable in public. "It was my fault," she said back. His head shot up. _Her fault?_ he thought. "But you didn't…you didn't _make_ me," he said. "I guess I was just a little hurt, I don't know." He rubbed his hand awkwardly. It suddenly felt a little less warm now. She sipped on her water to compose herself. It stung, but at least he was honest, right?

"We've both made some mistakes," she said. "What happened the other night. It shouldn't have happened because I was with someone else. The only difference was, you weren't with me. You didn't cheat." She reached back and squeezed his hand again. She _wanted_ to make this work. It would take time, obviously, but she wanted it. More than anything she could think of.

He looked at her. He was admittedly a bit blindsided. He was expecting her to get up and storm out for a moment. He sat blankly for a minute and cleared his throat. "So…where does this start?" he asked, looking at her straight in the eyes. She smiled, never having let go of his hand. It had already started.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter nine_

There was a peaceful silence in the room. Only three sounds were noticeable; the ticking of the clock from the next room (just barely, though), the birds outside, also barely noticeable, and the sound of Cory breathing. Lea was already awake. She laid there, tracing her finger on his arm slowly, counting the freckles. Sixteen, just in the area she could see without moving. She didn't want to wake him.

Nothing happened; it was much like the other night, minus her leaving this morning. She would have been crazy to. They watched Bravo the night before and talked before they decided to call it a night.

He snored. She found it adorable. He also talked in his sleep. Something about a fiddle. She wasn't sure what _that_ was about, but it was still adorable. He licked over his lips in his sleep; the same smile that was there two days before was there again. Only this time, it was wider. She carefully, very carefully, turned to see him. His hair was messed up from bed-head; his shirt was wrinkled from where she'd been cuddling up against him; he had a small five o'clock shadow that was starting to grow in. She traced over his dimple carefully, with the pad of her thumb. _Adorable,_ she kept thinking to herself.

That did it. His smile melted into a grin and he half-opened his eyes. The sun was a little too bright, but it was good this time. He could see her perfectly. "Morning," he croaked. Saturdays were his favorite. He could sleep in as late as he wanted, for the most part. She giggled slightly. "Morning," she said. "I didn't wake you, did I?" She looked a little worried. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. "Well, it's okay," he said, the grin still there. "Better than any alarm clock I ever had." She grinned back, gently pushing a hand through his hair to fix it for him. "Did you sleep okay?" he asked worriedly. He was well aware that he snored, and he was always asleep before her. She nodded, nuzzling her nose into his neck. "It was perfect," she admitted. "You sing in your sleep," he said with a sleepy laugh. It was true. She did.

She playfully smacked his arm. "Do not!" she said with her quintessential "Lea laugh." He nodded, half-playing with her. "You do. I couldn't tell what it was you were singing, though, 'cause you were asleep. But it was cute." He smiled down at her before sitting up a little. "You know what we should-" _Ring! Ring! Ring!_ His thoughts were cut off by the phone. He rolled his eyes. It always happened at the most inopportune time. It was her phone; more specifically, it was Dianna. "Let me get that," she said as she reached over him. He kissed her shoulder as she did, a small smile playing on his lips. This was…well, Heaven.

She stayed there, lightly pushing her free hand through his hair. "Hello?" she chimed, surprisingly normal-sounding. "Where have you been?" said Dianna. "I've been trying to get a hold of you _all night._" Lea rolled her eyes a little bit. Her and Dianna were practically best friends. She might have owed her an explanation, but sometimes it was nice to get away from everyone for a while. (Everyone minus Cory, that was.) "I wasn't feeling well," she said, continuing to push her hand through his hair. "I came home and crashed." She bit her lip. It was sort of the truth. After they returned home from dinner, they only stayed awake an hour or two. They were both exhausted. "Oh," said Dianna, almost sadly. "Well, look. It's our night off. My friend, you know, the one who runs the photo shop? Well, he has a friend. I was thinking we could maybe do a double-date tonight? It might help get your mind off Theo."

She held in a laugh. "I'd love to, but…" She debated right then on whether to break the news. "I have plans with a friend tonight. From Jersey." There was a moment of silence from the other end. _Plans?_ thought Dianna. _And she didn't invite me?_ She didn't let her know, but it stung a bit. "Oh…well, maybe you could bring your friend? We could make it a group thing?" Lea hardly had time to answer before Cory began pecking her shoulder, signaling for her to hurry up. He wanted to have breakfast with her. Lea held in a giggle. "I'll call you a little later and let you know, okay?" Dianna frowned. "Okay," she said sadly. "Talk to you later." They hung up, Lea holding onto her phone. She lazily rested her head on his, laughing a little more now. "That tickles," she said with a cute pout. "Good," he responded. "That was the point." Lea sat up again, him sitting up with her. "Did you know I can cook?" he said, with the wiggle of his eyebrow. "I'm a _master_ at cutting fruit." He patted her knee. "Come on, I have bagels in the cabinet."

After breakfast, they both changed. She stayed in the bathroom, he in his room. He didn't want to rush anything. Neither did she. She came out in a shirt with half-length sleeves and a pair of skinny jeans. Simple, yet still stylish. He stuck to his Canucks shirt and a pair of jeans. He smiled at her. "Looking good, Miss Sarfati," he said with a sheepish grin. She rolled her eyes playfully at him. "What should we do today?" She sat on his couch, Indian-style, sipping on another cup of coffee. He walks in and sits beside her, linking their hands. "I have an idea," he said. She looked at him curiously. Anytime he had that look, something big was planned. And he had _that_ look.

"_Why are you running so fast?_" she said with a pant. Being as tall as he was, he didn't really have to run fast to stay ahead of her. LAX was notoriously crowded, though, and she was only given time to pack one bag of luggage. She hoped it would be enough. "C'mon, you gotta go a little faster," he said, having already breezed through security. She eventually caught up with him in the terminal, sitting down next to him. She gave him another cute pout. "I don't get why we're in such a hurry, and _why_ you won't tell me where we're going." He grinned. "If I tell you, you won't want to go." He shrugged simply. She hated being distracted, especially from her routine. Even more, by something she had no control over. "You'll recognize it once we get there, I promise," he assured her. Luckily for him, she trusted him.

As they boarded the plane, he grabbed her luggage. They packed together. They were only going to be away for two nights. How much could she have possibly needed? Clearly, he wasn't into the female mind-set. "I didn't even bring my favorite coffee mug!" He sat next to her, flipping through the magazines. "I'm sure they'll have plenty of coffee mugs in…" He paused. "Wherever we're going." She frowned. She hated the suspense. "Can you please just tell me?" She gave him doe eyes. She knew she was impossible to resist. He kept his eyes locked onto the magazine with a shake of his head. "Can't do it." He felt like a monster, trying to keep it from her. She sighed dramatically and turned, folding her arms. Their flight was five hours. She had a long time to guess.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter ten_

Somewhere between Los Angeles and Omaha, she'd fallen asleep on his arm. It was quite comfy, after all. He didn't mind, even if there were people watching them. They were almost instantly recognizable in the public eye, so that had to exercise caution. He cleared his throat, gently moving his arm. She made a sad face and moved to the other side. He took his jacket and covered her with it. (No _way_ was he paying $15 for a blanket.) She smiled again. It smelled like him; some form of oak and cologne. It was an odd, yet still enjoyable combination

He couldn't fall asleep, though. There was too much of a buzz. He texted his friend, Mark, just before boarding. "I need one of your rides for tonight", it read. "I'll pay you in cash once we land." He promptly replied. It was reserved especially for them.

"Excuse me?" the flight attendant inquired. He looked up. "My friend, that one there," she pointed to another attendant. "We were wondering if we could have a picture with you when we land?' He laughed, rubbing his neck. "How about an autograph?" He didn't want to be held up any longer than necessary. One picture meant a line of people would want one. "Oh," she said, almost sadly. "That's fine." He felt a little bad; he was usually more than happy to take a picture. He signed his name, along with a note under it. "Next time you're in L.A., call this guy." He left his agent's number. "And he'll get in touch with me. -Cory Monteith" He handed it to her with a smile, before turning his attention back out to the window.

There it was, New York City. He never got tired of seeing the skyline. The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty…Times Square. She turned back and opened her eyes, resting her cheek on her hand with a grin. "Why are we in New York?" she asked quietly. "It's a surprise," he said again. She was sure persistent. She pouted cutely. "There's _nothing_ you could surprise me with in New York. I know the city like the back of my hand." He rolled his eyes. "Challenge accepted." She grinned at him and rolled her eyes. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you for flying American Airlines. This is your captain speaking. We are due to land in New York City in approximately fifteen minutes. Please, secure all safety restraints and turn off all electronic devices to ensure a safe landing. And, once again, thank you for flying American Airlines."

The plane grew restless again. It was a long flight, or at least it felt that way. Thankfully, they were sitting in first class. They wouldn't have to deal with a ton of people once they got off, and they could just get their luggage and hail a taxi. They cut out 90% of the hassle.

_Bump, bump, eeeeeeeeeeeeep._ The plane hit the tarmac before it screeched to a halt. He unhooked his belt and grabbed the bag, stepping out before her to avoid any suspicion. He quickly got off; he could feel people following him. It made him nervous. She was close behind though. That made him feel a little better.

"_Where are we?_" she pressed. She needed to know, at this point. He didn't budge. "Just keep the blindfold on." Wherever they were, she could tell it was somewhere high. _That's weird_, she thought. She was _terrified_ of heights, even if she was a New-Yorker. He helped her take a step; then another, then another. "Cory!" she demanded. He laughed. It was cute. He followed close behind her, feeling whatever was around her.

Leather, some kind of a strap; naturally, she feared the worst. "Is this going to end up with me on TMZ?" She paused. "Or Cops?" He laughed and untied the blindfold, the door closing and locking. "Not at all," he said. "Well, maybe the first one." She looked out the window and her eyes widened. She was inside a helicopter.

She instantly locked onto his arm. "I don't like this," she said immediately. "Not one bit." He gently patted her hand. "It's okay, I'm right next to you. Mark's a great guy. He's going to make sure nothing happens." Mark waved, handing them their headsets. "Wear these to talk back and forth with each other! Press this…" He leaned in, pressing a red button, "to talk to me!" He was yelling. (He was used to yelling over the blades.) She nodded and did as he said. The chopper was already off the ground a little. She couldn't turn back even if she begged.

Her arm locked around his and she stayed close by his side. They were the only two on the chopper. The rose a little higher each minute. He told the pilot to take it slow. He knew she was scared of heights. "How's this for a first date?" he teased. She playfully glared at him. "Not funny," she said. She was pale, though, and her hands were clammy. He hesitantly slid his fingers between hers. "Shh, it's fine," he said as he looked out the window with her. "I brought you up here for a reason."

She honestly couldn't think of a reason they would need to go via helicopter. The city was easily accessible via cab or foot. She preferred either. "What reason would that _possibly_ be?" she said. Part of her tone was serious, the other half playful. They flew for a moment before he answered. He grinned once he saw it, extending his arm. "See that?" He pointed to her Candies sign. She turned and practically felt her heart melt. She ran her thumb over the back of his hand, gradually becoming more calm. It was amazing, she thought. He could just be right next to her and calm her.

She turned back to him. "You did this…for me?" she said. Her eyes were brimming with tears. Happy tears. She hadn't done that in a while. He simply nodded. She smiled and leaned up, kissing him once. Then twice. Then, a third time, just for good measure. She could kiss him all she wanted to, now. They were in a helicopter. No one could see them. _This is perfect,_ she thought to herself. He cleared his throat as she pulled away, his hand finding hers again. "Hey, I was meaning to ask…" He paused nervously. "I know this is kind of a weird place but." He straightened his jacket a little.

"Lea Michele Sarfati…" She grinned at his words. "Will you be my girlfriend?" She giggled with delight and nodded. She'd have been _crazy_ to have said no, right? She kissed him again as they circled around Times Square. She didn't stop, this time. She didn't let him stop.

_Nothing_ was going to stop them.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter eleven_

"_Mom?"_ chimed Lea as they entered her house. It was one of her favorite parts of New York; not only could she see her family, but she never had the hassle of putting up with a hotel. This was _her_ turf.

Edith emerged from the kitchen in a robe. "Lea?" She narrowed her eyes and walked over, enveloping her in a tight hug. "Cory!" She leaned up, squeezing his cheeks and kissing each one. His eyes widened a little. His mom wasn't quite so touchy-feely. He didn't mind, though. "Hi!" he said cheerfully, staying right at Lea's side. She turned back to Lea. "We weren't expecting you!" She turned in a frenzy, starting to clean unnecessarily. Lea laughed, gently grabbing her arm. "It's okay, mom. Cory brought me here as a surprise." She smiled at her own words and turned back up to him. She playfully pinched his cheek and kissed his nose.

Her mom paused. "There aren't any _other_ surprises I need to know about, are there? Am I a grandma?" Her eyes lit up. Cory blushed immediately. Lea's jaw practically dropped. "_No mom,_" she said, slightly irritated, but understanding nonetheless. "He brought me in a helicopter! He was showing me the new ad!" Edith beamed. "He's a keeper!" She scurried back to the kitchen, half-talking to them and herself. "So handsome!" Cory and Lea slowly followed, Cory walking behind nervously. He'd never been to her apartment before.

"I'm making pasta," she said, standing over the stove. "It's not vegan, though." She stirred it with a hum. Cory could somewhat see where the humming came from. As she put the oregano in, she glanced in his direction. "Are you two staying with us?" Lea nodded. Cory wasn't aware of this, but the agreement had always been that Lea would stay with them when she came. Something about bonding. He shrugged. He didn't care. As long as he was with her.

"Come on, I'll show you around!" She grabbed the luggage and tugged him off to the direction of her room. There were three rooms. One for her parents, one for her, and a guest room. She stopped in front of the guest room. "This will be yours!" She grinned at him. He blinked a few times. "Guest room?" He poked his head in. He had serious doubts as to whether or not he would even _fit_ on the bed. She nodded as she poked her head inside with him. "Mmmhm!" She was unusually cheerful about the idea.

She tugged him to her room. She was good at that. Tugging. "And this is my room!" She laid the luggage against the wall and pattered to her bed, sitting on it for a moment. "I don't think we'd _both_ fit on here, so…" She trailed off. "Plus, my parents are right next door." She paused. "My mom hears like a fox." She fluffed her pillow, not giving a second thought to it; her and Theo did it quite often.

He dived on the bed. Bad idea.

_THWOMP!_ The mattress buckled and her eyes widened. "Cory!" she wailed. But it was too late. He lay flat on his stomach, arms spread out on either side of him. The bed wasn't quite as lucky; it was now (partly) on the floor. "_I've had this bed since I was sixteen!"_ she whined. Oops. His eyes widened and he laid completely still. "Maybe if we just lay _really_ still…" he said lowly. Even talking might have made it fall further. She huffed. The bed fell completely.

Her mom came running in, spatula in-hand. "Oh my," she said, a bit frightened. "You could have at _least_ closed the door," she said; her fright melted into surprise, then humor. "I guess it was about time to replace it anyway," she said simply. Lea shook her head. This wasn't how she wanted to start her relaxing weekend. "He dived on it!" she said. Edith chuckled. "So I see. Cory, dear. Do you need an icepack? Are you hurt?" He landed belly-down. "Nah," he said after a moment. "The boys are okay." Lea gave his shoulder a hard nudge.

_Later, after dinner and her parents going to sleep…_

She prodded around. "Watch it!" he warned, squirming a little beneath her. "Well if _you_ wouldn't have turned my bed into a landing zone…" she said, almost playfully. "I've had that bed since I was sixteen," she repeated. "I know," he said again. "You've told me three times tonight. I just thought it might be able to take a little more. Excuse me." He laughed, trying to lighten her mood. It was sort of working. She couldn't stay mad at him for long. She adjusted herself some more. His legs were half-hanging from the bed. It was still oddly comfortable, though.

She quietly flipped on her TV and rested her back against his chest. She could feel his heart pounding like a drum. "What are you so nervous about?" she finally asked. Silence, for a while at least. "I was a little worried when you had me meet your parents." She laid her head on his arm. "They loved you," she said, reassuringly. It was true; they did. He licked over his lips, his next words struggling to come out. "That's only ever happened one other time," he admitted. "It was a disaster." She frowned, tracing her fingers on his bicep. "Grandma loved you," she said, trying to assure him again. "Grandma usually takes a while to warm up to people."

That made him smile. He leaned down at kissed her ear. She smiled back, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. "That tickles," she said, not bothering to move. He grinned and did it some more. "_Cory,"_ she said, almost whispering. He ignored her. She sighed through her nose, sucking in her lip. Her eyes slipped closed for a moment. She could feel his lips beginning to trail. "Cory…" she said again, uselessly. "My _parents…_" He shrugged a shoulder. He could be extra-quiet when the time called for it. This seemed like one of those times.

Before she knew it, both of his arms were wrapped around her. They were kissing again; it was more passionate this time, though. There was something…different about it. Their lips melted together perfectly. The space between his fingers matched hers perfectly; to put it simply, they were perfect together. He didn't stop. Neither did she. They didn't need to this time. There was no Theo. There was no Jamie.

There was just them, New York and the weekend.

_The following morning…_

New York was a busy place. If you weren't accustomed to the sounds of car horns going off all night, or airplanes flying over at any given second, then you wouldn't be used to it. Being a native, Lea enjoyed it. In fact, it even helped her sleep a little better. Nothing compared to Cory, though. He slept peacefully behind her again. She was awake early, as usual.

Her morning was a little different this time, though. She was in his shirt. It looked almost like a dress on her. His arm was resting over her again, his nose buried in her neck. He was sleeping like a baby. She smiled to herself. She could have stayed this way all weekend. She rubbed over his tattoo, counting a few more freckles. Five in the spot she was facing. She lightly kissed over each one, glancing at him as she did. He stirred a bit, but didn't wake up. She bit her lip. The decision to wake him or not was difficult; if she did, he might have been grumpy. If not, her parents might have intruded. Surely, her parents knew it wouldn't have been her _first_ time. But the thought still made her a little nervous.

"Cory," she said, extra quietly. If she was going to wake him up, she wanted it to be semi-peaceful. A goofy grin tainted his lips and he sat his head up. He licked over his lips. "Hmm?" he asked, rather sleepily. "Wake up sleepy-head," she said. She fixed his bed-head for him. "We need to be awake before my parents come in." She pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead. He pouted cutely, her words only making him snuggle closer to her. "Hmph," he responded. "Wanna cuddle," he murmured. She giggled a little bit. "Fine." She buckled. He was too cute to say no to. He smiled, having gotten his way. He rested his head on her shoulder.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Perfectly."

"I snore…"

"I sing," she giggled. "I think we're even. And you didn't snore _that_ much." He grinned. She'd been awake long enough to tell. He leaned up and kissed her. "You don't think it was too soon, right?" No other guy would have cared, but he did. "If I did, then it wouldn't have happened," she said, matter-of-factly. That seemed like a good answer. He wasn't going to argue. She sat up and combed through her hair a little. She couldn't help but wonder if her parents heard.

Just as thought entered her mind, her door flew open. Well, it was as good a time as any to ask.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter twelve_

Lea and Cory both froze. Thankfully, he was wearing pajama bottoms, so it wasn't _completely_ compromising. She didn't come in. "We're going to have breakfast! You're more than welcome to join us." They both breathed a sigh of relief. He laid on his side again, tilting his head a little. In spite of their near run-in with her mom, he rubbed her arm. He had a lot to say, but he was running low on ideas of how to say it.

She grinned at him, playfully narrowing her eyes. "No funny business," she warned. "They're awake this time. I don't want to be responsible for throwing them into cardiac arrest." He scoffed, pulling her back into him. "I wasn't trying to do anything." He licked over his lips. "I was just going to say something…" He trailed off nervously. She bit her lip. _What does that mean?_ she thought. "Last night," he began, "was…it…it was incredible." He was stammering. It was adorable. "I mean, I've never…" He felt his cheeks redden. He wasn't much of a romantic when it came to words; he let his actions speak for him. "I've never felt so connected with anyone," he finally forced out. She smiled, leaning in and kissing his nose.

"You don't have to try so hard around me, you know. I lo-…like you for who you are." She let her thumb brush across a patch of his scruff. "Nothing else matters." She leaned down and kissed him again. She couldn't get enough of doing that; the kissing, particularly without consequences. She didn't need to feel bad or ashamed for doing it. She didn't need to feel like she was going to be judged for doing it. She could just…do it. He narrowed his eyes playfully. "You were going to say something else, weren't you?" He kept his hand on her arm, letting the pad of his thumb brush across her skin. She sucked in her bottom lip and shook her head before he ambushed her into a tickle fight. He did it often, on-set, but it didn't have such a romantic context to it.

She laughed, a little more loudly with each breath. It only encouraged him, though. "Tell me what you were going to say, and I'll stop!" he teased. She was almost gasping now. "I said I love you!" she blurted out. He froze, instantly. He didn't necessarily think it was too soon for the "l-word", but he couldn't keep his eyes off hers the night before. There was a fire in their eyes. Anyone watching might have needed a bucket to throw up in. Anyone who'd ever been in love would have probably recognized it. It caused her to sit up and she tucked her hair back, her index finger on her lip. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she said quickly. He shook his head mid-sentence. Instead of saying anything, he leaned over and kissed her. It caught her off guard, admittedly. Most men, she figured, would have turned and fled the other direction. Not him. He was honest with his feelings. She admired that.

He pulled away after a minute or two. "I love you, too," he said quietly. He didn't want to cause a scene. The truth was, though, that he'd loved her for a long time. He just never had the courage to say it. Now was a good reason to. They stayed there a few extra moments, studying each other's eyes. "Lea!" her mom beckoned again. She laughed, brushing her thumb back across his jaw. "I think they want us to join them." She got up, closed the door and walked over to her luggage. In one swift motion, she was out of his shirt and searching for a new outfit. Naturally, he couldn't have helped but watch.

"No staring," she playfully warned. He laughed nervously and walked over to join her, grabbing a t-shirt and jeans. He didn't need to be fancy. She was stuck between two outfits. He watched curiously again from a distance. "You'll look great in anything," he admitted as he rolled his deodorant on. She couldn't help but grin. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not. You look beautiful, really."

"Cory…I'm not _wearing_ an outfit."

"Yeah, but you still look beautiful."

"Even if I had a paper bag over my head?"

"Well, no. Because then I wouldn't be able to see your face."

She laughed, her hands on her hips. "Go with the red one," he finally said, assuming she'd been waiting for advice. _Finally_, she thought. She slid on the red top and jeans before fixing her hair. She started to apply some make-up. "Skip on that," he insisted. She looked a little confused. "Make-up is for people who lack a personality." She sat her make-up kit down. _Was he being for real?_ she wondered. She'd never seen him be so sweet before. "Plus, it'd smear all over the silverware, and I bet Fire Engine Red is probably hard to get off with Cascade." He playfully nudged her as he walked out, his hands buried in his pockets. She soon followed. Time to face the music. Again.

_Later that afternoon…_

"Where are we going?" he asked this time. She simply continued to walk ahead of him. They couldn't hold hands. At least not here. It was sort of a bummer. They had to hide everything. It was hard already. "You'll see," she chimed. She seemed oddly excited about this. It made him curious. He froze in his steps. It had been a few hours since breakfast. His stomach was growling. "Look! A hotdog stand!" His mouth watered a little. She froze, too, with an almost horrified expression.

"Do you know what is _in_ those things?" she asked, looking at him incredulously. He blinked a few times. "Meat?" He shrugged. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If you call pig snout "meat", then yeah." His nose wrinkled immediately. Well, there went his appetite. She talked him out of buying one of those _disgusting_ hotdogs and replacing it with something much healthier, morally and health-wise. "We'll get the biggest salad we can find," she promised. He was suckered into it.

They walked for a few more minutes before finally coming to a stop. Her eyes lit up. His filled with confusion. "Here?" he asked. She nodded, the grin on her face undeniable. "Here."


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter thirteen_

She beamed as she walked up to the door. He was still in shock. He wasn't sure why, though. Carnegie Hall. There it was, in all its glory. "Come on!" she said, rather excitedly. It was cute. She tugged on his hand. The first set of double doors opened right up, practically inviting them in. A cool, musty feeling filled the air. He actually enjoyed it.

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose. "_Ahh,_" she said, immediately recounting all of her previous experiences in that very lobby. So many hands shaken; so many autographs signed; so many photographs taken. She was high on nostalgia. Needless to say, he was smitten.

They made it through another set of double-doors. Now, they were in the theater lobby. The only other stage to go through was to the actual theater. She tugged the handle. It opened. "Wow, security in here is pretty cruddy," he noted. She playfully swatted his arm. "People come in here all the time and tour. There are cameras _everywhere,_" she said, conveniently waving at one. That made him nervous. What if they recognized them? The last thing they needed was to be put on _National Enquirer_ for breaking and entering, along with secretly dating. His publicist wouldn't like that.

He sauntered to the end of the bleachers, as if he was trying to hide. "No one's in here," she said, almost as if she could sense his worry. (She could.) She pattered up on stage. He took a seat, looking around. The theater was huge. He could see why she liked it so much. She took a breath, a shaky one. "I haven't been here since…" She paused. "I guess I was here last season." She chuckled. It wasn't the same, though. It had practically become her home on Broadway. "Come up here with me!" He grinned a little, slowly getting up and making his way up, looking around as he did.

"What's it like…performing in front of all those people…showing your tatas?" She hit his shoulder with a laugh. "Cory!" She buried her nose in his shirt, sucking in a breath. He smelled like oak and cologne again, her favorite. "It was more than me flashing a bunch of people," she said, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. "We were a family. Kind of like on Glee, you know?" He nodded, and she wrapped her arms around him. She rested her chin in the middle of his chest, giving him a puppy-dog expression.

"You miss it here?"

"All the time."

"You're not gonna leave me for Broadway, are you?"

She grinned. "I can't marry Broadway." He blushed. Marriage? That seemed a little…well, forward. "I'm sure you could, if you wrote a strongly-worded letter to the state of New York." They both laughed. He was such a dork.

Their laughs were soon cut off. The double-doors flew open, and a tiny beam of light entered the room. He immediately dove off-stage, her continuing to stand with a squint. "Who's in there?" demanded the voice. "You're trespassing on an historic landmark!" She rolled her eyes. "It's me, Burt." He paused. Footsteps pattered faster to the stage. "Lea…Lea Sarfati? Is that you?"

"It's me, but I told you. Call me Lea _Michele._ It's my stage name." He walked up and gave her a hug. He wasn't young, by any measure, but they'd been good friends throughout her career there. "It's been years!" he exclaimed. "Sorry I couldn't be here when you filmed here. They wouldn't give me clearance." He shined his light down on Cory, who now lay in front of the stage, covering his head. "You can get up, I'm not going to hurt you." He sat up on his elbows again, looking back. He was lucky not to have broken something. "Good thing I'm so tall," he joked.

Lea reached down, though it didn't do much good. He walked back up on-stage, taking his place next to her. "Burt, nice to meet you," he said. Cory gave him a look. He was probably younger than him. He had a badge. It was a venomous combination. He stuck his hand out, giving him a firm handshake. "Cory," he said simply. Burt drew his hand back, sticking it in his pocket. "I hate to do this to you guys, but there's some kind of seminar going on here in about an hour. They're going to be here any minute." Cory sighed. "Ten minutes?" he asked. Burt shook his head. "I could get in trouble." Lea gently nudged Cory. "It's okay, I can come back another time…" She grabbed his hand, trying to pry his feet from the floor. "Just ten minutes?" asked Cory incredulously.

Burt was getting impatient. "_No,_" he said again, more firmly this time. "There's nothing going on next weekend. You can try then if you're going to be in town." Cory folded his arms. "We won't be. Just ten-"

"CORY!" shouted Lea. She froze at her own loudness. It scared her a little. "It's fine. I can come back later." He pouted immediately. "Fine," he muttered, trudging outside again. She sighed, shaking her head. _Men_, she thought. "The next time you're in town, give me a ring. Maybe we can grab coffee?" She hesitated. She didn't like giving out her number, for obvious reasons. "Okay," she said lowly, writing down her home number instead of her cell phone. "Just call me later tonight." She gave him a small hug before helping herself out.

"Cory?" she called. Nothing. He was nowhere in sigh. _This isn't good,_ she thought. She walked around the corner to a hotdog stand. Nope, not there either. She sighed. She grew distracted, pulling out her phone. She didn't see the shadow looming over her, or the hand reaching for her.

Her phone fell to the ground, the corner of it chipping. A shrill scream passed her lips.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter fourteen_

"_Shit!"_ she said suddenly. Cory drew his hand back, seeing she'd dropped her phone. "Whoa, sorry!" He frowned. "Don't _do_ that," she said sternly. "Why did you run off in there?" He rubbed his neck awkwardly. He wasn't (usually) the jealous type. Something came over him, though…

He bent down and picked up her phone for her, along with the little chip that fell off. He was fully anticipating fireworks. That thing was like her child. "No reason. Just thought you might have liked some alone time with Burt," he said simply. She rolled her eyes. "He was just doing his job. You shouldn't have gotten so angry with him."

"He couldn't even have given us ten minutes?"

"He does what he's told, Cory." He rolled his eyes. Bending the rules every now and then never hurt anyone, he figured. He was just trying to throw his weight around. "So what did you want to do next?" He purposely kept a small distance from her. Sure, it wasn't L.A., but they couldn't be seen "together" until they made it official themselves. She pattered along slowly. "We should go to the AT&T store. I need to replace this."

"I can get it, I'm the one who broke it…" She snatched it away before he could. "It's fine," she said, a bit peeved at him. He frowned, rubbing his neck again. "Look, I was actually planning this romantic dinner tonight," he confessed. She paused mid-stride. "Out in public?" She half-turned her head back at him. _Well, obviously not_, he thought. "No." He cleared his throat nervously. "We can order take-out from Sardi's, or something…" She beamed.

"I know you don't drink, but we can maybe get a glass of wine, too?" She continued to walk. It was as if they were conducting business, not planning a date. So professional. "I'd be okay with that," he said sheepishly. He caught up with her after a moment. "You know, last night was supposed to be tonight." She looked confused for a moment. "What do you-…Oh…" She frowned. "So…you're saying it wasn't as good as it would have been tonight?" She pouted. She hadn't regretted it. She hoped she could say the same for him, but now, she wasn't so sure.

He sighed and walked ahead of her, sort of subtly. "Last night was perfect," he muttered quietly. "Like…the happiest I've been with…someone." He cleared his throat. "I just thought maybe I rushed you…" He leaned against the wall, looking down at her. That wasn't the case at all. "Cory, how long have we known each other?" she asked, looking at him with an odd degree of confidence. "Uh, like…three years. Why?" His brows wrinkled. "It's not exactly like we were strangers." She slid her hands in her pockets. "We've kissed before. On and off-set." She grinned. Not many people knew about the off-set thing. He grinned back.

"Kissing and…" He trailed off for a moment. "Sex?" she asked, matter-of-factly. "Yeah, that, are a little different. There's a little less involved with just kissing. Plus, you can kiss anyone and it doesn't necessarily mean anything." He shrugged. That, once again, wasn't the case with her. Every kiss, every hug, or every look he felt something with her. She began to walk backward now, almost challenging him. "What did you feel when you kissed me?"

"Uh, pole," he said hurriedly.

"Pole?" _Wham._ That kind of pole. She crumpled over immediately and he frowned, catching her before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?" She blinked a few times. That was going to hurt for a while.

_Back at her apartment, a few hours later…_

"At least the deli guy didn't call the ambulance or something," he said as he applied the icepack to her forehead. She had her head laying across his lap. "I'm fine, you know." She giggled. He'd insisted on her coming straight back. No way was he going to risk something happening to her. Not on his watch. "I just want to be sure…" He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "We're still ordering out, right?" She gave him puppy-dog eyes. Did she really expect him to say no to that? "Well, yeah. I mean, it might not be as romantic here with your parents around." He shrugged. He was a master at improvising. "I can get my parents to go out." She yawned quietly, her fingers slowly raking on his leg. "There's a show in town, anyway." Thankfully for her, her parents loved the theater almost as much as she did. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her. She was almost asleep. He glanced at the clock.

"Hey, it's only two. Want to take a quick nap?" he nudged her shoulder. Too late. She was already asleep. He carefully bent down and picked her up. Thankfully, she was light as a feather. He carried her into the bed they'd slept in the night before, before laying her down. He crawled in behind her and rested his head on her, his smile growing. It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon.


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter fifteen_

She shifted around in the bed, laying next to him. He slept like a bear. She groaned, her head feeling much better than it had earlier. "Cory," she said once. Nothing. He continued to snore. "Cory!" She sat up and turned around, gently shaking him. He half-woke, caught in a snore and a talk. "Wha-what? What's wrong? Is there someone in the house?" He blindly reached for whatever his hand happened to land on. (This time, it was a phonebook.)

"No, but it's six in the evening." She sighed. She was usually so productive, but ever since her run-in with the pole, she wasn't feeling quite so peppy. He sighed and rubbed his eye before sitting up on his elbow. "Feeling better?" He smiled sweetly. _You're smiling?_ she thought to herself. How could he have been? It was his fault she ran into the thing in the first place. He could have warned her, or something. …Right?

"I'm fine," she said before he could move again. She shuffled over and began combing through her hair. She had every intention of following through with their date-night; she had to convince her parents to leave, and convince him to wear a tie. If she went through that kind of trouble, then utilizing the time for it wouldn't have been so bad. He frowned. Maybe it was because he snored? "I need to go get some of those breath-right strips," he joked. Nothing. Not even a smile. "'Cause of the…snoring." He wrinkled his brows at her, rubbing his neck.

If there was one talent he lacked, it was being able to determine why a woman was angry. I mean, sure, he saw plenty of documentaries on the subject; something about hormones, and other bodily things he didn't feel the need to discuss. He was having trouble connecting the dots. She raised an eyebrow and turned around, one hand on her hip and the other clutching the hairbrush. "What were you going to order tonight?" His eyes widened. Was that a threat? Or did she just really like brushing her hair? "I, well…Sardi's said they would deliver so…" He cleared his throat.

She turned back around and made sure everything was in place before she spritzed some perfume on. "Mom and dad will be gone all night," she said quietly. "Well, at least most of the night. We'll pretty much have the place to ourselves." He smiled. That sounded nice. "But _no_ monkey business," she warned. "I don't want to give them a heart attack." She chuckled at her own joke. As funny as it sounded, regardless of whether or not she said it in a joking way, she was being completely serious. They might have dropped dead if they saw it. He laughed at her concern. "It wasn't a one-time thing," he admitted as he strode over to her. "But it's not the _only_ thing. I mean, we know each other pretty well, and it was…" He paused, searching for his wording. "It was perfect, really, but there's so much more about you that I love."

She froze. He said it again. It was going to take some getting used to, the "l" word. "What else?" she asked curiously. She would always catching him staring at her, at it made her wonder whether or not he was judging her imperfections, or admiring them.

He grew a bit bashful at her question. He wasn't expecting her to ask; he assumed she just sort of knew. "Well," he began. "I love the way you look in the morning. I mean, I know we've only spent two mornings technically together, but you just look…natural." He shrugged, realizing it wasn't as scary to tell her as he originally thought. "I also love your voice. It could knock me out." He paused, adding, "in a good way." He took a seat in the chair. This could take a while. "Then there's your tattoos. Sometimes, I count them. I mean, the ones that I can see." She sat on his lap, tilting her head, allowing him to continue. "Your one on your wrist is my favorite," he admitted.

He rambled on like that for a few minutes, her anger, or…whatever you would call it, slowly beginning to melt away. He was…sweet. He probably didn't realize it most of the time, either. Most sweet people don't; they consider it a way of life as opposed to something that deserves merit. She lightly pushed her hand through his hair, nodding every now and again, indicating she was paying attention. He smiled at the feeling. He loved that feeling, and made a special note of it as she did it. After he finished, he rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled. "Sorry that took so long," he said sheepishly. She shrugged. "We have most of the evening," she reminded him. "You could have gone on," she giggled. He smirked. "Only one evening. I wouldn't want to leave you hanging on anything," he said, nuzzling his nose into her. She sat there a few minutes, just like that before she pressed a light kiss to his forehead.

"Sorry," he finally said. She looked confused. What was he apologizing for? He just said all these sweet things about her. "Why? You didn't do anything?" He looked up at her with saddened eyes. "You were mad when you woke up." Oh, yeah. That. "It's nothing," she said dryly. "Just don't let me run into a pole next time." She playfully pinched his nose.

He blinked. "I tried to warn you!"

"Did not!"

"Did, to!" He began to tickle her. That always worked. She swatted his hands away, but it was no use. It was like trying to swipe a bearclaw away from a cop. "Cory," she said between laughs, "quit it! This mascara _just_ got put on!" That only encouraged him. "If you don't stop, last night will _never_ happen again!" she threatened. That stopped him. "Whoa, okay," he said with a laugh. "Someone's not playing around."

She adjusted her shirt, fixing a piece of her hair. He narrowed his eyes at her with a grin. "You wouldn't say no to me," he said coyly. She raised a brow. _What a bold an inaccurate statement, _she thought to herself. "I'm Lea Michele," she half-joked. "I could say no to the Pope if I wanted to." It never crossed her mind exactly what she would be saying no _to_, just that she could very easily do it if the circumstance called for it.

Just as she finished her thought, his lips found her neck again. She shivered immediately. "You need to shave," she said during a gulp. He hated shaving. "I'll shave when I'm ready," he muttered against her skin. She sighed and titled her head back. "Cory," she said lowly. He was ignoring her, again. Her voice eventually trailed off into nothingness. That rarely happened.

Just as she turned her head to kiss him, he smirked. "The Pope, huh?" he asked as he slid up from his chair. "Good to know where I rank." He got that grin again, the one he got whenever he won anything. She pouted, rubbing her neck. Her finger ran over a small mark he'd left.

"Race you to the living room!"

"Cory!" She chased after him, pillow in-hand. It was like they were teenager in love, or something.

_In love._ That was the key phrase. They both felt it. That was the beauty of it. No one had to hide anything. They could just be themselves. Pillow-fighting, tickle-fighting and all.


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter sixteen_

"Am I a bad person?" She batted her lashes at him. It was enough to make him melt and laugh all at the same time, but he had to keep his composure. "I think it's a temptation to cheat for just about anyone," he said lowly. She pouted. That didn't help. "I didn't have any other choice!" She crossed her arms stubbornly. "Would've been much better for you if I wouldn'ta caught you red-handed." He chuckled. She gave him a playful shove.

"Monopoly's a hard game," she admitted. "And you're _really_ cut-throat." He didn't like to brag or anything, but it was true. It only took him forty-two minutes to make her throw in the towel. That wasn't as long as he could go, though. "I once made a game last six hours." She looked at him incredulously. "What! We have to find _some_ way to entertain ourselves in Canada," he teased.

She grinned and replaced the pillow under her arms with him. He was warm, and smelled like cotton. "This is nice," she said as she crawled more comfortably into the blankets. "Yeah…" he said, beginning to smile. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and flipped the TV on. "Next time we come out here, I'll replace the bed. We'll just need more time." She rubbed his chest with her palm before resting her head against it. "You don't have to. I hated the thing anyway," she said with a laugh. He rested the back of his head on the head-board. "This has been the best two days of my life," he said as he rubbed her side. It was making her sleepy.

"Don't doze off on me just yet!" She pouted. "But we have an early flight! And work tomorrow." She continued to nuzzle her nose into his chest. He chuckled, playfully trying to grab her nose. "You know that's my tickle spot…" That only encouraged her. "Trust me, I figured that out last night." His face got beat-red. "Hey, easy tiger. I want to make it back to Los Angeles in one piece."

She leaned up, stopping him mid-sentence. "Shh. We have an early flight to catch." Her arms looped around his torso and gently guided him against the bed. "Sing something to me," she demanded softly. That was a new one; usually, it was the other way around. He licked over his lips, thinking for a moment. "_You are my Lea, my only Lea. You make me happy, when skies are grey…"_ Her eyes slipped close, listening him sing to her. It was soothing. He kept singing until she was asleep; he kissed her forehead gently and soon dozed off himself.

_Later the following day…_

The trip back to Los Angeles was a rocky one. She didn't even have time to get a cup of coffee. They ran late. "It wasn't my fault," he kept insisting as they sped onto the plane. She wasn't buying that. "You forgot to set the alarm before you went to sleep." He frowned. He was far too enticed serenading her to have remembered. He felt dumb. "You just looked so comfortable," he said pathetically.

She rolled her eyes playfully. She was wise to the puppy-dog scenario. She practically invented it. She didn't have to worry with it for long, though. In just a few short hours, they'd be home.

_Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeerp! _The plane hit the tarmac with a screech. It jolted both he and her awake; there were no autograph requests this time. They got off lucky. This appeared to be some sort of a business flight. No one on-board would recognize them; if they did, it wouldn't have mattered.

She quickly stepped off the plane with her purse and nothing else. It must have slipped her mind on how suspicious it looked. He grabbed their bag and followed a few short moments later. They stayed about one hundred feet away from each other, just enough to be a coincidence if they needed to throw a story out there.

Little did they know, that ability was about to come in-handy for them.

Her phone would have rang off its hook if it had one. E! news, TMZ and Entertainment Tonight were calling her, all at the same time. She was, to say the least, a bit confused. She hadn't attacked any paparazzi; she hadn't done any philanthropy work, at least not that weekend. She answered E!, mostly because they tended to have a better reputation on their story-telling.

Her jaw dropped as soon as the other voice spoke. "This is Greg with Entertainment Tonight. We were calling to confirm the rumors that you and co-star Cory Monteith are dating?" Her chest began to rise and fall dramatically. Her eyes sprung with tears. They'd been too careful for this to get out so quickly. "I-I, no, that's not true," she said immediately, as well as obviously shaken. He apologized for her time and hung up quickly.

Cory was getting the same calls, from different reps of the show. They were tag-teaming them; it was common practice in Hollywood; when one-half of the duo denied any romantic involvement, the other would almost always refuse to answer. She raced to him, waving her arms like a mad-woman. "We're uh, just friends," he said sheepishly. They apologized and hung up on him, too.

Her hands stayed glued on her hips, her eyes locked on him. She wasn't mad at him, per se. There was a chance, however, that he could have prevented this.

One name came to mind: Burt.


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter seventeen_

He kept apologizing. Profusely, actually, but it didn't do much good. "If you would have been nice to him…!" she reminded him. He sighed, almost a little annoyed at how badly she was overreacting. "I know, I know," he chimed in every few minutes. That didn't do much good, either. She paced around with her hands on her hips, her bottom lip tucked in-between her teeth. "We have to think of something," she muttered, almost under her breath.

She didn't want to hurt his feelings or anything. That was the last thing she wanted to do; she also understood the risks of a public relationship, however.

He sat, with his hands folded politely in his lap as he watched. "We could come out?" he offered. She blinked a few times and slowly turned to him. He was making it sound too easy.

Before she could object, the phone rang. _More press?_ she thought to herself. It was his phone, though, and he wasn't much a fan of tabloid interviews.

His face lit up. It was his brother. They didn't _usually_ hear from each other, unless it was a holiday or birthday. "Hello? …Yeah." His face began to drain all of its color and he was starting to sweat. "Oh, yeah. I…when…" He couldn't even talk straight. His voice was beginning to crack. Whatever it was, wasn't good. He hung up after what felt like three hours, but in reality was only about twenty minutes.

She cautiously approached. He was an easy-going guy most of the time, but she'd seen him under a tremendous amount of pressure. He tended to internalize everything. She knew this was probably one of those times. She carefully sat down next to him and pushed her hair off to the side. "What happened?"

He didn't answer for a while. The cogs in his head were turning. He was practically about to boil over with rage, but he hid it somewhat well. (For those that wouldn't have known him, at least.)

He took in a long, drawn out breath. "My mom died." She stared at him, almost in disbelief. The few times that she was able to meet his mom were rare, but never short. She loved to talk, and they always found themselves conversing over him. (Of course.)

"I…" was all she could say. She was as speechless as he was. He looked over at her, his usually-happy look now sunken down into a puppy-dog expression; it wasn't the cute kind, either. The kind that you would look at and openly note. It was the kind that spelled heartbreak. Like the world had just fallen down on him. In his mind, it had.

—

He stayed up crying most of the night, and she was right there beside him. She'd never seen someone cry so hard. She wasn't even sure how he was producing all of the tears that he was. She wasn't questioning it, though. She just wanted to be there for him. She knew he would be for her. Suddenly, the press on them about a possible cover story didn't seem quite as important.

"I can go with you," she said quietly and rubbed his shoulder. He was laying across her lap, his head resting on a pillow, Sheila cuddled into his stomach. He didn't answer for a while. She wiped his tears with the pad of her thumb. It broke her heart to look at him like that. "You don't have to," he said, barely. They were both surprised he could even talk. He wiped his eye with his palm again.

She frowned. "You'd do it for me, and I don't want you going up to Vancouver alone," she insisted. Maybe it was a bad time for it. Or, maybe, it was the perfect time for it. She wasn't sure. Thankfully for her, he was too tired to protest. "Her funeral's Thursday," he muttered, just barely. He was sick to his stomach.

"_She died in her sleep, bub." _(It was what they called each other since childhood.) "_Went to visit her this morning and she didn't wanna wake up. So, I shook her a little and she didn't move. She was freezing, so I knew something was wrong. I didn't want to disturb her, though, but I got scared. I called the police, and they came right out. They told me…she wasn't with us anymore. Sorry you had to find out this way. I know you wanted to come up and visit soon._"

The message replayed over and over in his head. _Soon_ clearly wasn't good enough. He called her every day, unless he was out of the states. Even then, he texted her. He texted her the night before, actually, to tell her he made it home safely. She didn't get back with him, but it didn't surprise him. It was kind of late, after all.

Night soon turned into morning. It was a dark, damp morning. It reflected the mood perfectly. There were no birds chirping. What could they possibly have to chirp about? It wasn't even raining. At least if it had been , it might have washed away some of the feelings. No such luck for him.

"You should sleep, you're exhausted," she said quietly.

"Can you stay with me?" He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. He was terrified to let go of her. "I don't want to be here alone," he admitted. He wasn't quite sure what he might have done with himself if he'd been left alone. He didn't want to test the waters, either.

She thought about protesting; Ryan had given Cory all the time he needed off, but not her. She wasn't sure how she would explain herself, but she wasn't leaving him there. Not like that. "Of course," she said and moved Sheila. She crawled in front of him and let his arm drape over her. It wasn't hugging her as it might have otherwise. It was just there.

She ran her fingers over the palm of his hand, listening for him to go to sleep. His breathing didn't calm, and she could still hear him hitching his breath. She began to sing to him. Maybe that would work?

It did. Peace. At least for a while.


End file.
